


Can the Devil Speak True?

by luccamustdie



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Drinking, Eating Disorders, F/M, M/M, Oral Sex, Sex, Sexual Tension, Smoking, Swearing, Underage Sex, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-20 23:03:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6028723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luccamustdie/pseuds/luccamustdie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a lot of unresolved tension between Frank Iero and his teacher, whom everyone seems to have the hots for, Mr. Gerard Way. It's a little hard once Mikey is his best friend and the teacher's brother, and it only gets worse when Frank gets kicked out and has to live temporarily with him and his hot-as-hell teacher. The worst is he seems to be the only one to notice the fact his teacher barely eats, and his teacher is the only one to notice his issues go deeper than the eye can see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Playing the Game

**Author's Note:**

> So this was originally a RPG game that's still going on!!! As I didn't write it myself, I will credit @desolationiero, on tumblr, for helping me on this masterpiece. (So much tension, man.) Good luck reading, hope you like it.

Frank used to be amazing in school when he was young. He had minor problems with learning and behavior, yeah, but so did every kid. His mother was an alcoholic and his dad was out of the picture during his childhood, so no one was really teaching him social skills or helping him with the homework; it ended up that he would spend a lot of time alone because of it. He had no friends because he was the weird kid that flinched at everything and, on top of everything, he didn't have his family to talk to. School became his safe place; he’d spend all his free time in school just wandering around or jumping role all alone. School was where he taught himself how to play a guitar after that music teacher rocked _Fear of The Dark_ in the Christmas school talent show and something sparked inside his heart, and he felt… Fuck, he felt like he was alive.

But then, as he got older and older, he began to be scared of a lot of things and school was no longer his safe heaven; more like a nightmare, as was his home, and now he had nowhere that would protect him from his shit thoughts and all of those crazy things the world implied on people. But he managed. He went to school every day and by the time he was 17 he was popular- _ish_. He was known for being a little bit of a bully; not that he liked being known for that, because he wasn’t really. And Mikey was his only friend, then, he was glad Mikey didn’t think he actually bullied people―even if he would be able to, if he wanted.

So, in that rainy day, he and Mikey sat in the back of a classroom, Frank going off so loud about how much sex he got, trying to show off to everyone, even though he was still a virgin. But he would never let anyone know. He didn't care that class was going on and he was screaming about tits, which earned him a few glances from the teacher. Frank didn’t mind; every girl in the class looked at Mr. Way as if he was some sort of God. He was the Adonis of Belleville High; that’s why a total of _all_ boys there hated him.

Three months have passed since Gerard Way started teaching in that small hellhole called school in Belleville; after spending two years of his life teaching in New York, Jersey was quite the change. Well, a good change whatsoever. He had been liking the place a lot more than he expected to, and way more than he remembered as a child. Mikey had grown up a fucking lot since the last time they met in summer break, and Gerard was astonished. They caught up with a lot of things that happened including Mikey getting a girlfriend and Gerard deciding he'd teach and use his art skills for good, leaving the comics―original career plan―as a hobby, or a side job.

The Umbrella Academy wasn't that successful yet anyway; with only two comics out, there was no way it'd be. But it was already more than Gerard expected ("That dumbass expected zero return, as if his art wasn't amazing. Idiot." That was the situation, in Mikey's words).

That was a particularly stormy day, and, well, that meant thunder. That meant lighting and all those things Gerard was terrified of (as if needles and dark places weren't childish enough). He walked towards the school with a tight grip on the leather bag hanging sideways on his body and made way to the teachers' room as quick as he could, taking deep, labored breaths. He really fucking tried to keep his best straight face. The bell rang, and he walked towards the first class of the day; minutes ticked and tocked away and his handwriting ended up even shittier on the board because, each time there was the sound of thunder, he would shake harder. It ended up looking like some 3 year old attempt to write.

The fact he hadn't eaten in so long didn't help at all.

"Class, I..." He started, and the girls immediately stopped to pay attention to him, as they always did―who never had a hot teacher crush anyway? "I am not feeling very well; I left these questions on Classic Art for you to answer. They will count for your final grades this month. So, you are free, _for the day_. Don't get used to it."

Frank heard the teacher talking and he crossed his arms. He huffed a bit while fiddling with his messy wrecked hair. Of course, he had noticed how scared Gerard seemed about the storm; of course, he had to be an utter jerk about it. "Is there something bothering you, Mr. Way?" He spoke out with a smirk, Mikey nudging Frank and whispering a quick "Shut up!" He didn't like when people bothered his older brother, especially while he knew that Gerard was scared to death. "I can't actually read the board." Frank carried on.

Everything was already so fucked up with that storm; the teacher had to grip on something each time thunder struck down and caused that noise, and he was trying so badly to cope but that combined with the fact he hadn't eaten in two days made him feel like he was about to pass out. And then there was that Iero kid. That boy got him on the worst of his nerves. "As I said before, _in case anyone is deaf_ like Mr. Iero seems to be, I'm not feeling well today." He said, taking a copy of the imprinted questions and handing to him. "There. If you can't read this, make your way back to second grade." He spat, sassily, and sat back on his chair, correcting and grading tests from another class.

Frank saw the packet of questions land onto his desk and his gave Gerard a disgusted look. How dare he? Who the fuck did Gerard Way think he was speaking to? Frank picked up the papers and tossed them onto the floor with a clearly pissed off look. The papers flew everywhere and Frank's glare didn't fall for a moment. "Oops."

Obviously, Mr. Way didn't miss it with the corner of his eyes when he had that extremely childish attitude; he was more focused on how his knuckles were turning white with his grip around the pen, and his eyes found Mikey's for a split second before he said "You just got yourself a week worth of detention, Mr. Iero. Not a smart move." _Don't focus on thunder_ , he chanted silently to himself in his head. _Don't, don't. It's ok. It's safe._

Another thunder struck down.

"Shit." He hissed, looking down blankly at his desk.

"Oh do I?" Frank spoke, his smart ass attitude just filling the air around him. He stood up from his seat to try and threaten Gerard but Mikey pulled Frank back into his seat and nudged him again. "See if I show up." He laughed under his breath then; finally, Gerard smirked at him, staring deep straight into his eyes.

"See if I don't get you expelled in two seconds." He said, feeling his stomach tighten and ache. Nothing was okay in his system and he sucked at basic human functions, such as showering, eating and sleeping. Yet, there he was, measuring forces with a 17 year old prick. But the smirk on his face didn't falter for a second. And it sure as hell made ever girl in the room wet; the room got even hotter.

Frank locked eyes with Gerard, both of them staring each other down. He didn't want to lose, he really didn't but god that look. It was a hell of a strong and powerful fucking look. "Detention starts today?" He asked, giving up, feeling his body just want to make its way closer to Gerard, who nodded in victorious response and sat back into his chair. His body had bent forward towards him and he hadn't noticed until he rested his back against the chair. "Be here at two pm and don't be late unless you want another week of it." He warned, glaring daggers, and then proceeded to grade papers.

Frank was leaned forward too, looking at him carefully before licking his lips to speak. "What if I want another week of it?" He questioned, everyone suddenly looking at Frank like he was crazy.

Suddenly it felt like all of the air was sucked from Gerard's lungs. That was obscene, obvious and shameless flirting. And the worst part of it was Gerard actually fucking enjoying it. After opening his lips but having nothing come out, he simply smirked. "Be my guest." He said, without thinking, and the whole class was staring now in utter silence. Their eyes were locked in each other’s and the tension was almost visible in the air, then…

Then the bell rang.

Frank looked around and saw everyone watching them and he knew he needed to make it less obvious that he was hitting on his art teacher. He got up and walked past Mr. Way’s desk, laughing. "As if I would want to be around you at all," he said, with a shit eating grin, and left the room.

Gerard couldn’t help but feel his chest tighten.

"Sure, Frank." He called, purposefully using his first name as a tease.

Shit, he really needed to eat something, anything. Luckily, he had brought with him a small pack of those awful mini carrots. All of the sass and wit dropped immediately as soon as the door closed and he was alone. Slowly, shaking, he took one and put it in his mouth, chewing on it. It was a mini carrot, he kept reminding himself; just a carrot. It won't get you fat. It won't, it’s _just a carrot_.

While he had a war with himself, Frank went off down the hall to lunch, Mikey screaming in his ear about how stupid he was. He rolled his eyes and walked with Mikey to a table, dropping down and not even eating anything but those disgusting French fries, that couldn’t even be called French fries. Seriously, it could make a man puke.

For Gerard, each class crawled slowly until the end, and lunch time didn't feel much better. The only difference was that in lunch time he could drown out seven cigarettes to try to forget how desperately hungry he was and Frank didn’t have to dwell a lot on how much of an asshole he was. When it was 1:45pm, he climbed the stairs to the third floor of the school and waited for Frank to show up. After all, he was the only one who managed to get a detention in a Monday, in the first period of the day. What a moron.

When the final bell chimed, Frank begged Mikey to stay. He really did try, but Mikey wasn't having it. He was probably fed up with those kinds of bullshit from Frank; sure, he was his best friend but fuck, he could be an asshole more than anyone. "I behave right every single day, man; I don't deserve to sit in some shitty class for three hours after school! I told you to shut up and you didn't so you go and sit through it." Mikey huffed, Frank rolling his eyes and the clock ticked and marked 2:10pm when he stormed into the classroom furiously.

Gerard tsked. He felt somewhat better now and could have the nerve to treat that wimp without seeming weak. Also, the storm had stopped so that was a pro. "Look who's late." He said, eyeing him carefully, noticing his tattoos with more care. No one was seeing him look at the art in his body, so he enjoyed the opportunity to kill his curiosity―but not all of it, since his tattoos disappeared beneath the fabric of his black shirt where his eyes couldn't see. The thing was, Frank had lots of shitty, pointless tattoos. He loved getting tattooed and his parents sure as hell didn't care. "I'm deciding if I'll give you three or seven more days of detention for that."

The boy just watched Gerard look up and down Frank's arms and neck. "What the fuck are you looking at?" He growled, ignoring Gerard's words.

Oh, he noticed Gerard was staring. Well, shit. "I am an art teacher; your tattoos are interesting." He simply said, figuring that excuse would be good enough to make him not sound like a creep that was eyeing a 17 year old boy’s body and simply interested in the art of his tattoos instead. Frank just nodded a little, actually forgetting they were there. "I have lots more, as a matter of fact.” He told him, shamelessly yanking up his own shirt to show off the art that was there, all because his gigantic ego loved getting to show his tattoos off to people.

As for the poor teacher, he was shocked. He simply... Took off his shirt, what the even- "Mr. Iero, I appreciate you easing my curiosity but that's inappropriate. Put your shirt back on, yes?" He said, smirking at the sight, feeling his body heat up to it. The tattoo on his lower abdomen was sure his favorite; those doves. Perfect. "Though, I have to admit they really are quite gorgeous."

"How is it inappropriate?" He asked, ignoring. "I'm not a chick showing off my tits, I'm showing off tattoos I spent a lot of money on. I want people to see them." He huffed, and all this made him sound a lot like a spoiled and annoyed brat. Not that Gerard minded much; since he was too busy staring up and down his tattoos now that they were for show.

As much as he wanted to avoid it, Gerard got up from behind his desk with his eyes locked in Frank's body. Those tattoos were... Wow. They trailed down and, along with his body hair that disappeared down his navel, beneath the brim of his jeans, left a lot for the imagination. "I like this one." The teacher said, pointing at the dove tattoo.

Frank held his gaze on his, watching Gerard. "Which one?" He asked smoothly, seeing if he would be able to get Gerard to touch him. "I have so many; I don't know which one you mean…" He smirked darkly. _Little fucker,_ Gerard thought. _Well, I might as well play the game._ The teacher grinned, his eyes darkening as his whole body shivered to the tone of voice Frank used. "This one." He said, sliding the tip of his fingers through the 'And' between the doves just above his jeans. His skin felt hot and soft against Gerard's very cold skin (because having an eating disorder will keep you from being warm, figures).

Frank felt a shiver pass through his naturally thin hips. He looked down at them and smiled. "Oh, those?" He grinned a bit. "A personal favourite for me, as well." He replied, moving a hand to touch over them. "What do you like about it?" Gerard couldn't help but notice how fit his body was; there wasn't a layer of fat around his waist line, like Gerard had. He knew two things: he fucking hated himself, and he had the hots for a fucking student. Both were shitty, but he preferred to focus on the hots. "I like the general artwork of it. I also like this one." He continued, brushing a strand of black hair away from his face and touching the Our Lady of Sorrows tattoo on his arm. "Gorgeous."

Frank let Gerard look at it, smiling at it. "Me too. It's nice." He said, a smirk playing on his lips. "You really like them?" He put his shirt back on, but deep inside he was actually wishing his teacher's hand was back on his body. Gerard made his way back to his desk but didn't sit. Instead, he wrote 5 questions on the board. They weren't art related questions; they were personal. _1\. What is the meaning behind your favorite tattoo? 2. Which tattoo is it/where is it tattooed? 3. Where do you have tattoos? 4. 5 things that make you angry. 5. 5 things you actually enjoy doing._

"I will grade this assignment, Mr. Iero. Once you finish it, you’re free to go home.” The clock marked 02:56pm. "If you don't finish it, you're staying here until 4:30pm." Frank sat down and watched him write on the board. "What does this have to do with school?" He questioned, not really wanting to tell the man those things about him. It felt kinda invasive.

"This is detention. You do what I tell you to do, regardless of what it has to do with; nothing of it is inappropriate, so you should answer." Gerard replied drily, simply, and stared into his eyes with part of his fringe falling on his face. He had that fucking sex look. "The clock is ticking, Mr. Iero. I’d start, if I were you."

Frank was going to argue but he just sighed and gave in, because he was tired and it would be useless anyway. "I need paper." He didn't have money for the school supplies and he normally bummed paper and pens from Mikey. “And a pen would be good, too.”

The teacher raised an eyebrow first at his lack of resistance, which was so unusual, then at his lack of paper and pen, which were basics to school. He simply took two pieces of paper and a pen instead of arguing or asking, and handed it to him. He watched the boy, who just took the stuff and sat back down grumpily. "At least I can actually read your shit hand writing this time." he mumbled, Gerard didn’t give it any attention. He wrote his name on the top of the paper and groaned.

  1. _The doves are my favourite. The 'And' between them means that everything has a second part, has something added in._ That was so pointless, Jesus fucking Christ. Why did he want to know that anyway? 
  2. _The doves between my hips._
  3. _My arms, thighs, neck, back, other places._
  4. _\- My parents_  
\- People ignoring me  
\- School  
\- Myself  
-



Frank left the last space blank. He couldn't think of anything else that properly pissed him off.

  1. _\- Playing guitar_  
\- Being with Mikey  
-  
-  
-



He left the rest blank. Frank didn't like anything at all. He couldn't think of anything else in the world he liked aside of that, and that kinda sucked. As Frank scratched his answers down on the paper, Gerard tried to focus on his work and not the pair of greenish eyes that eyed him during class, not the intense stare, not the tattoos and the warmth of his skin.

To say he was unsuccessful was a monstrous understatement.

In half an hour he handed Mr. Way the paper with a hard look, and he allowed him to go home. “See you around, Mr. Way." The kid spoke roughly, but a soft grin shined through. He left quickly after that, walking all the way home since his dad took away his car. Soon the teacher went home himself; he grabbed a cup of coffee in the cafeteria after taking his things and putting them into his bag, and went to the parking lot. He drove down the streets, sighing and sipping, and parked in front of his house.

The door shut with a click behind him and he locked it, going to his bedroom without talking to anyone. He had a bad migraine. And his body was weak all over, but he was used to it. He felt hungry; but he opted against food, and turned the computer on instead.

Frank didn’t have the luck of solitude.

" _Seriously?!_ " His father screamed at him the moment he walked in. "Late again? Always fucking late. God, can you do _anything_ right?"

 _No, dad,_ he thought. _No, I can’t._


	2. Listen to me, damnit!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit happens, right? Well, shit happened. Very tense. Phone numbers. Snow. Bobby pins and accidental nicknames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dudes nd girls, sorry this took so fkcn long. I'm so happy about the feedback on the first chapter though like jesusfckn christ!!!!!!! You guys rock. Anyway I'll update asap always I can, with college starting this week I'm not sure how that'll work but I swear I'll do my best. 
> 
> Again, BIG TIME credits for @desolationiero (on tumblr) for writing this with me!!!!
> 
> We love u all, many hugs xøxø

When the alarm first went off in the morning, Frank knew he was ditching class. For a series of reasons, the main one being the unsufferable headache throbbing and the sickness in his stomach. He gagged and rolled in bed, closing his eyes again after dismissing the alarm clock. No way in Hell he was going to survive school that day. Now, obviously he didn't think about the consequences of it at 6am, even if something in the back of his head told him his dad would fuck him up, the body aches were worse. Way worse. So he decided he'd just give into it and stay home, enjoy his few hours of peace before his dad came home. He did everything he had the right to do, because fuck it anyway, there was nothing he could lose. If he was going down, he might as well do it in style.

After a lot of food, throwing up, video games, more throwing up, watching TV and, yeah, throwing up, it was 4pm. He heard the door when his father came home, and turned off the TV, heading immediately to his bedroom. He turned on his computer and thought about doing Math homework, but watching Night Of the Living Dead over again seemed so tempting. He went for that one.

Wasn't long until he heard the door slam open and his dad stumble into the bedroom. Probably drunk, but who knows, he couldn't walk even when he was sober anyway. By the time he started speaking, Frank wasn't sitting anymore, he was standing in front of his bed. "You fucking useless scum." He growled, and the anger in his voice made all hairs in Frank's body stand on end. Shit. Yep, he totally found it out. "Didn't go to school again?" Retorical. "Why the fuck do I pay for you to go there?!"

He was so motherfucking sick of that shit and he knew he was being beaten and kicked out, probably, but he didn't hesitate to retort. "You don't pay, I fucking go to a public school." The man snarled at him and the first hit came like a bomb towards his eye, making him stumble backwards and hold his eye in pain.

"YOU DON'T FUCKING ANSWER TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU PIECE OF _SHIT_."

"How do I answer then, daddy, dear?" Frank was looking up at him and smirking, and it sent his dad's mind into a wirl of anger that made him lift his arm and, when his fist came down, it was sure full force into the boy's stomach. Two, three punches and Frank was kneeling on the floor. He barely had time to get his shit together when a knee that surely was very hard connected to his nose, and Frank thought he might have broken it.

Oh, shit.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" Frank heard his father growl, panting.

"WITH FUCKING PLEASURE!" Was all he yelled back, dumping all his school books out of his bag and replacing them with clothes and things that were important to him, like his deodorant and a toothbrush. Also some comics, CDs and his collection of coins. Important stuff.

The next thing he did after he catwalked out through the front door was stop by Bob's house to get his nose fixed and the blood wiped off (because having a friend that was much of a specialist in street fights would give you those benefits). Then he phoned the only person in the world he fucking trusted. The phone rang two, three times when he heard a familiar 'hello?' on the other side. "Mikes?"

"Hey, Frank, sup?" He was winning a match of CoD against Ray when he heard the phone. Frank told him what happened and fuck, shit. Shit. "Yeah, of course! Man, just come over to my place! Fuck, I can't believe that?!" The blonde was practically screaming now, and his cheeks were flushed red. In anger, that happened more than he was proud to admit. Gerard left the bathroom and looked at him with that curious frown.

"Mikey, who is it?" He called from the hallway, towel around his waist and jet black wet hair dripping all over. Mikey looked at him as if urging for him to shut the fuck up, and kept talking to Frank for two minutes until he hang up with a simple 'see you'. "Mikey?"

"It's Frank, fucking damnit. He got kicked out. He's coming over." Gerard went silent; well fuck. His brother just looked confusedly at him, raising his brows and shaking his head sideways as if asking him 'what?'. Gerard dismissed it with his head. His heart wasn't beating faster, he wasn't shaking, no sir.

Frank had no idea it was because he was coming live there for God knows how long that Gerard had that lost look on his face. And Mikey was clearly pissed at that. "Gerard," Mikey called him, making him snap out of his trance of utter disbelief. The teacher actually had no idea how to deal with this. "Gerard, pay attention, fuck!"

"Sorry." The semi nude man said, looking at him. "Sorry, say it-"

"Get dressed, man. I'm going grocery shopping because we need to feed Frank something. I'll be back in few minutes." The younger Way said, to which Gerard only nodded before getting into his room, putting on a shirt and black sweatpants. He could manage that. He could handle it, it wasn't anything much. It was just Frank. The annoying Frank. The witty Frank. The-

_God fucking damnit._

As for Frank, it was just his luck Mikey happened to live two blocks away. He was in tears by the time he reached the door, not even wanting to knock anymore. All he felt was like he was bothering Mikey somehow, and he cringed as soon as he was going to knock, fighting himself over it. Mikey opened the door and found Frank there, a shaky mess with eyes full of tears. Tears he wiped away when he heard the door open, obviously.

"Frank, man..." He called, and didn't hesitate to give him a hug. The boy just fucking hated when Mikey saw him cry, but he couldnt help but stand up and hug him tightly. Even if his eye was barely opening. Even if his stomach hurt at the tight hug and he was trembling. He tried to ignore it, he had needed that hug more than he cared to think about.

Mikey just held him because fuck, that kid got it bad and it was his best friend. It was his fucking best friend there. He looked like he was about to get a nervous breakdown, plus he was freaking freezing. "Let's go inside, Frank, c'mon." He said, after a while. "Seriously, it's freezing." They entered the house and straight away faced Mikey's wet-haired messy brother making coffee on the kitchen.

Gerard looked at him and bit his lip. He had no idea whether to call him Frank or Mr. Iero. So he just said the stupidest, because obviously he had to. "Hello."

Frank wasn't expecting to see Gerard there. He thought the guy had his own place, I mean, he was over 25 years old. He was supposed to have his own place, he wasn't supposed to be there! Frank swallowed down hard and dry, and stared at him for a few moments before quickly wiping the tears from his face. "Hey."

Mikey saw the confusion in Frank's face and frowned. "You didn't know he lived here?" He asked, his blonde hair falling to the side of his face, his glasses on the tip of his nose. He pushed them up. "He's my brother." He explained, to which Gerard remained silent. Frank looked at him as if he said 2 + 2 were 4.

He wouldn't have fucking gone there if he knew. "I know he is your brother," he scoffed. "But I thought he had his own place or something, man. Also I feel bad for being in the way, you've got your friend over and shit," Him and Ray weren't really friends, they never got along; Ray kinda thought Frank was intimidating. "I can go stay with someone else-"

"No fucking way. Ray was just leaving, man, it's like 5pm and his mom doesn't let him out past this." Mikey rolled eyes and looked at Ray, who confirmed. "It's not like I'm kicking him out."

"It's ok. Really." Ray simply replied, and Frank only noticed the coffee smell from the kitchen was undeniably good. Gerard himself smelled like coffee. And cigarettes. And something minty. It sent his mind in a wirl. "See you later, Mikey." Ray said, pulling the boy out of his trance, and smiled before saying goodbye and leaving. Mikey just sighed.

"Frank, there's fucking nothing to eat here. I'm going shopping so I can cook us dinner." The blonde one said, and Gerard seemed really interested in his Neko Atsume coffee mug suddenly.

"Mikes, wait-" He tried to protest even, but in a split second Mikey was out the door. And now he was alone with Gerard. Well shit. Come on, don't make it awkward. Don't make it awkward. You got this. "So..." Was all he ended up saying, sitting down on the closest chair.

The small noise of fingers tapping the table filled the room. The teacher (wow that felt too formal to say out of school) had no idea what to do. He was a completely awkward idiot out of school, Mikey damn well knew it. And he left Frank alone with him anyway. Gerard cursed his brother in his mind. "Uh." He said, fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie. "Your parents kicked you out, then...?"

Frank was rather surprised to hear it so bluntly said. As if it was something that happened to everyone. Normal, pff, who never?! " _No shit;_ you didn't have to be such an asshole about it." He wished Gerard didn't know about it. He wished Mikey knew how to keep his mouth shut.

"I didn't-" He started replying, but closed his mouth, brushing his dark hair off his face. It kept falling. Maybe it needed a cut, as much as he hated it. After taking a deep breath to keep the nerves down, he continued. "I didn't really mean to be rude. Sorry."

Frank wanted to stay mad at him but he just couldn't. Frank sighed as Gerard's hair fell again. He got up and started going through his bag before pulling out two bobby pins. He always had some just in case, his own hair fell and stuck to his face sometimes. "Come here." He told Gerard, and for a second, he was confused at the boy's request, until he saw the bobby pins on his hand. Oh, God.

"This is going to look ridiculous." He objected. "Why do you have these?"

Frank started pinning Gerard's hair despite his protests. He stepped back after a moment of looking and smiled before shaking his hair around so his hair fell in his face, showing him why he had them. "I need 'em sometimes."

Gerard gave up and let him pin his hair backwards and noticed he could actually see things now, which felt pretty fucking great. It took Frank a few minutes to get it all perfect but, once he was done, Gerard shook his head and no hair fell on his face. Made him smile. "That's actually pretty fucking genius, even if I might look ridiculous." He said, and looked down at Frank. "Seeing your hair pinned back would be a thing, I gotta give you that one." A laugh left his lips. It was funny to imagine a kid that tried to hard to look badass used bobby pins like that. It was... Cute.

Frank smiled at Gerard a little. "You don't look too bad. I mean, not worse that normal." He joked. Okay, to get a few things straight (or not, that's gonna be a totally gay statement), Frank looked at Gerard and he was gorgeous, actually flawless as fuck and he assumed Gerard knew it. Because it was impossible for someone like that to live in a house with mirrors and actually not notice it. "Here." He said, going back to his bag to cramp his compact, opening it so Gerard could see himself in the little mirror. "Not too bad, huh?"

The tone on Frank's voice was joking when he said 'not worse than normal', but he surely wasn't joking when he said he looked not so bad. When he checked himself in the mirror, though, he made a disgusted face. "I look the worst." He giggled, trying to make it sound like a joke his best. "But these are... Comfortable." He continued, talking about the pins. They were comfortable indeed.

"You actually look kinda good." The boy replied, and smiled, messing with it more. "You look stupid when it falls in your face." Now that was such a big lie. He was sexy and attractive and Frank just wanted to grab it and pull it and kiss- _Wait, what in the fucking hell??_ Frank thought, feeling weirded the fuck out at himself for the idea of kissing the man. I mean, he always thought he was straight anyway.

Gerard smiled at the compliment and fixed his hair a little, smiling at Frank. Specially because he never thought he would say any of this. "Thank you, I-" his words were cut off by the door opening and Mikey appearing with ten bags in each hand, and his jaw just dropped when he saw Frank so close to his brother. Well, not knowing what was happening, the whole hair deal... He obviously thought they were kissing.

" _Wow what the fuck._ "

Frank looked over at a shocked looking Mikey. Oh, no way in hell he thought he was kissing the art teacher, of all people. "What's wrong with you?" He spat, making his way over to help with the bags. He left Gerard with the bobby pins, kind of hoping he would wear his hair like that to school, even if the smart part of him knew it wouldn't happen. But it was definitely cute.

Gerard took a deep breath and rolled his eyes at the scene, shaking his head as if he was pathetic, only because the moment was ruined and he could never get involved with him. And he wouldn't. First because he was his student, second because he was ten years younger, third because jail didn't seem like a nice place and fourth because he was obnoxiously...

_What, attractive? Witty? Charming, handsome?_

_Annoying. Yes, that._

He kept drinking up his coffee and humming Scream, by The Misfits, lowly. But the detail was, he didn't take the pins off. Frank ended up in the kitchen with Mikey as he made dinner. Just mac and cheese, figures, obviously Mikey couldn't cook to save his life. They rambled on about his home life, forgetting Gerard was still there, just sitting in the living room. Frank didn't mention the fact his stomach and eye were both black because his dad beat the living shit out of him, though. He said he got in a street fight the day before. But he did talk about his dad. "He is awful. My mom just sits there on her drunk ass laughing..."

Gerard had another cup of coffee while they talked, because why not anyway. It was sugar free, and he used a calorie free thing to sweeten it so it was safe. He was sitting in the living room couch, and he could hear everything they were talking. About his mom being an alcoholic and his dad being a jerk. It got to his senses; to what extent was his dad a 'jerk'? It made him wonder. But shit, it was none of his business. None. He really had to stay away.

Frank ended up crying again, getting so mad at himself for shedding a single tear about this. He cried of pure, raging anger. "I'm sorry for getting like this, I just hate them so much. I never even did anything to make them dislike me, man, you feel?! Like, _why,_ y'know?"

"Parents." Mikey replied, rolling his eyes. "Listen, none of that is really your fault, man, they just really fucking suck." He said, and Gerard chuckled lowly at the super useful advice. They just fucking suck, perfect. All problems solved. At least Mikey gave him a place to stay, that was actually pretty incredible. "I'm glad you're staying over. No one here gets drunk, only me in weekends when Alicia stays over." He played, and laughed, and Gerard laughed too. Oh the memories.

Frank stayed there and pouted, complaining about everything. "And you just let me into some place Mr. Way is staying?" He brought up, thinking he had gone to his room. "What the fuck?" Gerard just raised an eyebrow, what was he talking about anyway? I mean, that was his house.

Mikey lifted an eyebrow at him, stopping what he was doing to get into the argument. "He's my brother, man. He lives with me, what the fuck do you mean by _some place Mr. Way is staying_? Thats his house too, that's all. You dont have to talk to him and shit, just lay low. He never wanders much anyway."

When Gerard heard the fucks he was saying, he felt his insides cringe and his blood boiled. Even with Mikey's defense, it got him mad. As fuck. "Don't fucking worry." He said. "You won't be seeing me, _Mr. Iero_." He took all of the pins off and put them in the counter, giving Frank a glance of his hair falling to his face before he stormed upstairs. To say Frank was surprised that he was even in the room was an understatement. The feeling of guilt filled him like a plauge and he felt sick to his stomach, his head hurt again and he regret it immediately. He heard Gerard rush up the stairs and slam the door.

Mikey had a _well-are-you-happy-now-you-fucking-cunt_ look on his face.

"I didn't know he was right there. Fuck!" He was just having the worst day, wow. "I'm gonna go talk to him, I didn't mean it all like that."

"Well, you better fucking hurry." Was all Mikey said, looking at him still angry as hell. Because that was his brother there, and he wouldn't let things go, he was protective as fuck. "Go."

The firm voice made Frank feel weak and he wasn't sure he liked it too much. Frank grabbed the pins and put them in his back right pocket as he rushed up the stairs, feeling bad for saying those senseless shits, especially in a place where he was just the fucking guest. He took a deep breath, knocking on the door. _Calm down, calm down._ "Mr. Way?" And, no matter how mad he was, all hairs on Gerard's body still stood on end when he heard Frank's voice coming from outside of his bedroom.

"What do you want?" He responded to him, and, for some reason, his hands were shaking lightly. He could bet he was only there because of Mikey. "Tell Mikey I'm very fucking good without your honorable company, Iero."

"Mikey didn't tell me to come up here, man." Frank thought about it; for some reason the hair pins meant something to him. It was a nice moment. It really was. The fact that he kept them in his hair until Frank hurt his feelings meant such a fucking lot. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to say that stuff. Today was just... Terrible." Silence. Fuck. "Also I had more to say, that wasn't all of it." He already felt like this was pointless.

After he said those things, there was one more long and painful moment of silence before Gerard's voice was heard again. "The door is unlocked, moron." He said, and, inside the bedroom, he was sat back on his computer chair, clearly upset. "So, you better spill now what you were going to say to him."

The teacher noticed when he went in how clearly sorry he was. The way he couldn't look up at Gerard and he had a sick look on his face. All Frank thought about was how would he tell this guy that he thought he was handsome and sexy and great and stuff? He couldn't. "I can't tell you, but I promise I had more." Gerard scoffed at his pathetic excuse and rolled eyes. In his head, Frank could have _at least_ made up something good, but no. Obviously not interested in so much.

"Sure." 

Frank felt worse as Gerard didn't believe him. He didn't want to lie to him but he couldn't tell him the truth either. "I'm sorry, man, if you won't believe me just whatever." He sighed a bit, turning to leave the room. Now he for sure couldn't stay there. Maybe he could try and sweet talk his parents. And Gerard didn't stop him when he left; he didn't stop him when he heard him stomping downstairs, he didn't stop when he stopped actually hearing him. All of that, all had exhausted him so much because he lacked energy to anything. And he didn't know why he cared so much about Frank and his stupid thoughts, but... Well, it wasn't like he could help it anymore.

Him and Mikey had it out for a few minutes before he finally left, forgetting his bag in the process. It didn't take Gerard more than five minutes to hear the door closing and he knew what had happened. It also didn't take more than two minutes for him to find Mikey's phone and Frank's number through the contacts. He texted, from his own phone.

**Unknown: If you stay out there and freeze I s2g I'm failing you this year, no matter what it takes. Come back inside.**

Frank had his phone in his pocket luckily, and he knew exactly who texted him (it was kinda obvious), but he wasn't sure if he liked that message when he read it. He added his phone number and didn't reply at first, unsure what to say. His heart skipped a few beats, not that he'd ever confess that, when Gerard actually gave a fuck, but he couldn't actually go back and face it. **It's all good, I have a place to stay.**  He texted, lying, still trying to figure out where to go. He wasn't welcome at a Mikey's house or at his own and he wasn't sure what to do. He could beg his parents to let them stay. Pay them a higher rent or someting, maybe.

Soon Frank's phone buzzed again.

**Mr. Way: I'm not exactly open for discussion.**

Gerard's phone buzzed at home.  **Frank Iero: So I'll have to leave a place I'm already at to go somewhere where I'll be yelled at by Mikey? No ty.**  

But Frank did want to go back. He liked Mikey and he liked the company, not to mention how much he utterly loved Mikey's PS3. Gerard wasn't having that shit from him. He knew that was bullshit and he knew Frank had nowhere to stay and he was probably freezing in some random corner of that town. So he called. "Mr. Way, I'm fine." He still didn't get why Gerard seemed to care.

 _"Sure you are."_ Gerard said, on the other end. _"And for fucks sake cut the Mr. Way thing, it sounds weird out of the school, my name's Gerard. I know you're freezing."_ He insisted, rolling his eyes almost as if frank could see it through the phone.

Frank hated the hard voice of the other man. "Stop talking to me like that, _Gerard,_ " he growled. "I am perfectly able and if worst happens then I would go back home and ask my parents to let me stay-"

 _"If that was the case you wouldn't be on the street, I can hear the sound of the cars. Frank."_ He was biting so hard down on his lips that he tasted blood.  _"Listen to me, you need a place to stay and I won't stand in the way, just don't go back to your house or stay on the streets."_

It surprised Frank that, of all people that could worry, his art teacher was the only one who actually did.

"Okay, so I am outside right now. If I got back to your house then I am going to be screamed at until I leave and made to feel like shit and that's going to happen anyway so I might as well go back to where I have all my stuff at." He argued. He felt like utter, worthless crap. He didn't know why he was arguing anymore.

 _"You won't get screamed at. Or kicked out, much less. Mikey won't do that, let alone me."_ A long sigh was heard from Gerard's end of the phone. _"You have nowhere to drop dead. I know how it feels."_

The last sentence made Frank shudder. "Mikey's mad at me, I don't really want to be around him right now. I was a complete dickhole to you and I feel sick and just want to be alone." A pause. "Thank you for calling me though, it means a lot."

What followed was the most crazy ass stupid idea Gerard ever had, but still better than letting him stay on the streets. _"Come upstairs through the window. There's a fence you can climb. I'm leaving my bedroom window open, so you stay there and I'll stay a while in the living room. There, no one bugs you, no excuse to freeze. Bye."_

Then the phone went dead, leaving Frank no option really. He was going to complain and argue about it but he couldn't anymore and Gerard was waiting for him now. He didn't even know why the teacher gave a shit about if Frank froze to death or not. In his's eyes, Gerard should be praying for a blizzard. But he got up and walked all the way back, trying to climb the tree but he was weak anyway.

Gerard left his bedroom with the window open as soon as he turned the call down, and walked downstairs. He tried so hard to ignore the fact he was feeling so weak and his vision was darkening from the corners, it felt a little like when he got drunk, just without all the shit talking bullshit. But the self control was slipping away. "I'm gonna go for a walk, Mikes." He said, looking at him with a smirk, feeling colder than it probably was. As soon as he got outside, though, he saw a very lost Frank trying to climb the tree. Frank whined as he tried it.

"Fucking snow, making shit slippery-" He grumbled to himself, trying to get up. Gerard chuckled, and it made his whole body shake.

"Are you ok?" He said, in an amused tone, and watched the smaller boy. Frank gasped as he heard Gerard, letting go of the tree.

"I'm too short to jump up onto the big branch." He groaned, defeated.

"Oh." The teacher just laughed, gripping tightly onto his own coat, nodding. "It's very cold, though... I'm gonna get you some stairs, maybe?"

Frank blushed a bit as Gerard offered that. "I still don't feel right about being here." He admitted. He felt like he was actually very awful.

"You don't have much of an option." Gerard said, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Fuck human functions. Fuck all of this. "C'mon, Frankie." _Wait. Where did that come from?_ He thought, panicking; his eyes widened at Frank, just as much as Frank's eyes widened as he was called Frankie. No one had ever called him that in his entire life and he didn't know how how to feel about it. It was warm and nice and... "Frank." The teacher corrected, in a rush. The nice feeling went right away as a dull 'Fank' filled its place. Of course he didn't mean to say Frankie. Why would he? He didn't like Frank at all.

Gerard noticed how he got after the small slip, and groaned to himself. "Sorry." He muttered, and avoided his gaze the best he could. "You really should... Go get warm..."

Frank nodded. He was feeling much like shit now. "I'll just go through the front and stay on the sofa. I'll deal with Mikey later." He walked past Gerard and the teacher took a long breath, watching Frank walk inside. _"Shit."_ He lit a cigarette.

Frank got inside and saw his bag, setting it in the floor before laying on the sofa in his jeans. _"Shit."_ He whispered, pressing his palms hard against his eyes until weird glowing forms appeared under his lids.

As of Gerard, each time he closed his eyes he saw Frank's. _Those are going to be long days_ , he thought, and brushed his hair off his face.


End file.
